Chapter 41 - 26: Scoring in Consecutive Games

Klaus Dieter Wolitz was a contemporary of Klopp.

They were similar in age, with similar professional careers.

Unlike Klopp, who had struggled in the lower leagues his whole life, Wolitz had always played for strong teams.

From Schalke 04 to Bayer Leverkusen, Hertha Berlin, VfL Wolfsburg, Cologne, and so on.

Although his playing career wasn’t brilliant, his resume was eye-catching.

And he had never thought much of Klopp.

In the eyes of Wolitz, who had started out as a number 10, Klopp’s football consisted of only three things.

Running, running nonstop, and running with every ounce of your being.

So, for this match, he had chosen to park the bus, completely closing off his team’s space to restrict the running of the Mainz players as much as possible.

This tactic had proven to be very effective.

It had even led to the pleasant surprise of a goal!

His only miscalculation was that 17-year-old Chinese kid.

Wolitz had watched the last match against Paderborn. He felt that Wang Shuo was a typical player Klopp would love—a good runner with excellent speed.

But his technique was average.

To him, a former number 10 attacking midfielder, one could even say it was poor.

In the early stages of the match, Wang Shuo’s performance seemed to confirm Wolitz’s opinion.

But that attack in the 41st minute, especially that first touch to control the ball, made Wolitz see him in a whole new light!

Anyone who’s ever played football knows how difficult it is to receive a long ball from the air.

Wang Shuo’s control was absolutely beautiful!

That first touch was the key to the goal.

And afterward, Wang Shuo taking on three defenders by himself completely stunned Wolitz.

At least half the credit for Subotic’s goal belonged to Wang Shuo!

With the score now level, Wolitz realized it was basically impossible for his team to maintain the lead until halftime.

Especially when he saw Wang Shuo rallying his teammates to continue attacking Osnabrueck, he knew Mainz had regained their morale.

Wolitz walked to the sideline and signaled for his players to switch to a defensive posture.

As long as they could hold on until the end of the first half, Wolitz was confident he could turn his team’s slump around during the break.

’We’ll settle the score in the second half!’

...

’Ride the momentum!’

’Seize the advantage before halftime!’

This was the only thought in Wang Shuo’s mind after the team equalized.

He constantly urged his teammates to keep pressing Osnabrueck.

He, in particular, was at the forefront, running and pressing relentlessly.

Osnabrueck began to switch to defense.

A clear sign was that their three defensive midfielders were all dropping back, maintaining a compact formation with the backline.

The left-back, Schäfer, was also defending.

This turned Osnabrueck’s defensive line into an iron wall.

Mainz broke into their final third several times but couldn’t create any real threats.

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, the official on the sideline had raised the board for first-half stoppage time.

One minute.

And the match clock soon ticked past 45 minutes.

After attacking continuously for four or five minutes, the Mainz players were somewhat dejected, seeing that the first half was about to end.

The Osnabrueck players, on the other hand, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

’We held on after all!’

On the sideline, Wolitz, in front of the home team’s bench, even started to turn and walk back to his seat.

After 45 minutes of intense play, the players on both sides were exhausted.

Wang Shuo moved slowly from side to side outside Osnabrueck’s 30-meter zone.

When the ball came back to the feet of right-back Marcel Schun, only 30 seconds remained on the clock.

At this point, the referee could blow the whistle to end the half at any moment.

Osnabrueck wanted to pass the ball back and run down these last few seconds.

Schun was a typical German defender—solid defensively with a good physique, but his footwork was crude.

Wang Shuo, however, was constantly scanning his surroundings.

At this moment, he was the only Mainz player left in the attacking third.

He was surrounded by Osnabrueck defenders.

In front of him were the last two center-backs, Sigyn and Ndjeng.

Between the two center-backs and slightly ahead of them was Osnabrueck’s holding midfielder, number 12, Matthias Heidelich.

When Wang Shuo saw Schun turn, he guessed that he wanted to pass back.

And he was certain Schun was looking for Sigyn.

This was because Wang Shuo was currently positioned right in front of the right-sided center-back, number 17, Paul Tomick.

Passing to Tomick was too risky.

This was, in fact, a situation Wang Shuo had deliberately created.

Wang Shuo was like an African leopard lying in wait in the primordial jungle, anticipating the appearance of its prey.

The moment he saw Schun control the ball and pass it back, he kicked off with all his might, launching himself toward Sigyn at top speed.

The first half could end at any second.

No one expected Wang Shuo to still have the energy to sprint and press at this moment.

Sigyn was startled by this sudden development and immediately moved forward to receive the ball.

The ball is always faster than the man.

As the ball arrived, Sigyn passed it to Heidelich, who was to his front left.

But as soon as he released the ball, Sigyn regretted it.

Because he saw that Wang Shuo, halfway through his sprint, didn’t continue toward him but instead veered toward Heidelich.

’Damn it!’

’The crafty kid was planning this all along!’

"Watch out, Matthias!" Sigyn cried out in alarm.

Heidelich probably also thought that once Sigyn received the ball, the half would pretty much be over.

The turn of events was sudden. When he saw the ball coming toward him with Wang Shuo bearing down on him at the same time, he panicked.

On pure player’s instinct, he immediately tried to pass the ball back to Sigyn.

This meant it was now a race against Wang Shuo!

But it was obvious that Wang Shuo was faster.

Before Heidelich’s pass even left his right foot, Wang Shuo had already stuck out his own right foot to intercept.

The ball struck Wang Shuo’s right foot and rebounded behind Heidelich.

Wang Shuo paused for just a fraction of a second before immediately chasing after it at top speed.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Only at this moment did gasps erupt from the Osnabrueck fans in the stadium.

"An interception by Mainz in the final third!"

"Wang Shuo!"

"It’s Wang Shuo again!"

Wang Shuo was the first to reach the ball.

But Osnabrueck reacted quickly too.

Ndjeng, who had been sticking to him like glue the entire match, also got back in position immediately.

One-on-one!

But the window of opportunity was fleeting.

If he missed this chance, the referee would blow the whistle without hesitation.

And at this very moment, Wang Shuo was filled with an incredibly strong desire.

After catching up to the ball, he didn’t immediately knock it forward. Instead, he paused and, with the outside of his right foot, nudged the ball sideways, feinting a horizontal move past Ndjeng.

This alarmed Ndjeng, who was rushing over to help defend. He hastily screeched to a halt and adjusted his balance, trying to block Wang Shuo.

If he could just stop this attack, Osnabrueck would have survived the first half.

But just as Ndjeng stopped short, Wang Shuo’s right foot cut the ball back, blowing right past the defender who was frozen in place.

In that instant, to the Osnabrueck center-back’s eyes, Wang Shuo’s movements were simply too fast.

So fast it was as if he didn’t have to consider gravity at all.

’This is completely unscientific!’

The series of moves was completed in the instant they made contact. After Wang Shuo faked out Ndjeng with a cut, the retreating Sigyn still hadn’t caught up.

Wang Shuo suddenly accelerated, knocking the ball into the penalty area. He shook off Ndjeng while using his body to shield the ball from Sigyn, who was behind him to his left.

"Wang Shuo fakes out Ndjeng."

"He’s dribbled into the penalty area."

"He has a chance!"

The goalkeeper, Belbig, decisively abandoned his goal and charged out.

But he was only halfway out when Wang Shuo had already broken into the left side of the box.

Facing the charging Belbig, Wang Shuo calmly struck the ball with the outside of his right foot.

The ball zipped past Belbig at lightning speed and flew into the back of the Osnabrueck net.

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"

"It’s in!!!"

"In the final moments of the first half, Mainz has once again breached Osnabrueck’s goal!"

"A goal from the 17-year-old Chinese youngster, Wang Shuo!"

After scoring, Wang Shuo excitedly turned and ran off the pitch.

Behind him, his Mainz teammates chased after him one by one.

It was only in the moment the ball went in that they finally reacted.

"We’re in the lead!"

"We actually pulled ahead!"

The surprise was so sudden that the Mainz players felt a dizzying sense of disbelief.

"That was brilliant!"

"Wang Shuo single-handedly completed the interception and attacking run, breaking through Osnabrueck’s defense all by himself."

"This is an absolute showcase of Wang Shuo’s individual ability!"

"He has now scored in two consecutive matches!"

"2-1!"

"Mainz has completed a spectacular comeback!"

...

"Whoa! That was insane!"

"Is that really Wang Shuo?"

"That one-on-three earlier was already stunning enough, and now he’s created a goal all by himself."

"Wang Shuo’s performance this match has been incredible!"

"Haha, after seeing Wang Shuo’s performance tonight, I’d like to see who still dares to say he’s just a crude player with no skill!"

"Exactly! Who says he can’t dribble?"

"This kind of performance, and they say he has no technique?"

"He’s amazing!"

While fans on the domestic sports forums were buzzing, at the Huairun Football School in Hu City, a group of teammates who had trained and played alongside Wang Shuo for a long time watched with utter disbelief on their faces.

"Is that Wang Shuo?"

"He’s improved so much!"

"I can’t believe it. When did this kid get so good?"

"Looks like the coach was right. Playing abroad really forges a player."

"Seeing Wang Shuo perform like this makes me want to go play abroad too."

"I’m going to try my luck in Europe too!"

"This kid is really making us proud!"

Meanwhile, at the Frankfurt youth academy in Germany, Oscar Corochano wore a miserable expression.

The better Wang Shuo performed, the more awkward his own situation became.

He could already imagine that when he went to work tomorrow, plenty of people would be asking him about Wang Shuo.

And, why did Frankfurt let such a gem go?

’Maybe I should just quit.’ Corochano didn’t want to go through all this again.

...

Wang Shuo’s goal dealt a heavy blow to Osnabrueck’s morale.

Taking the lead just before halftime, in particular, was devastating for the home team’s spirit.

After switching sides for the second half, Mainz continued to ride their momentum, looking to extend their lead.

But Osnabrueck were no pushovers. They steadied themselves and defended their goal with an iron-clad formation.

In the 62nd minute, Wang Shuo was substituted off for Borja.

As Wang Shuo walked off the pitch, Borja didn’t acknowledge him, instead running straight onto the field.

The guy had his displeasure written all over his face.

Wang Shuo didn’t mind.

Head coach Klopp was waiting for him on the sideline.

"Great performance, Wang!" Klopp gave Wang Shuo an enthusiastic hug.

Buvac and Krawietz also came over to praise Wang Shuo’s performance.

"Borja is the team’s top scorer, after all, and he broke his scoring drought last round. He also repeatedly asked the head coach before the match to play, so we have to give him some time."

Buvac explained in a low voice as he walked with Wang Shuo back to the bench.

He was clearly afraid that Wang Shuo would misunderstand and feel upset.

"I understand," Wang Shuo replied with a smile, not bothered at all.

He was just a rookie who had put in two good performances; he didn’t carry much weight yet.

However, the fact that Buvac personally came to explain made Wang Shuo feel that his status in the eyes of the head coach and the coaching staff was rising rapidly.

However, after Borja came on, he was too eager to prove himself and got completely lost in Osnabrueck’s defensive wall.

The Ecuadorian struggled to find any opportunities within the opponent’s defensive formation.

Everyone could clearly see that the threat of Mainz’s attack was completely different when Wang Shuo was on the field compared to when Borja was.

That was more convincing than anything else.